The Ship of Theseus
by Sapphire Snowflake
Summary: In which Draco Malfoy tries to catch Hermione Granger's attention in what people would think the most effective way: by asking questions.


**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter franchise is not mine. This story was written for fun and no money was obtained from it.**

 **Special thanks to Jezzi for beta-ing 2/3 of this. I apologize for posting when it's not completely done being beta'd cause it's getting far from Halloween. I couldn't figure out how to justify the text in so I apologize for that and any other errors you might find. Also, this site keeps on removing my page breaks. It's making me crazy. This is rated M for implied mature themes.**

* * *

 **The Ship of Theseus**

 **By Sapphire Snowflake**

* * *

Day 1

 _ **Do you know what the RMS Titanic is?**_

There, scrawled onto the piece of parchment Hermione had been planning to use to write a five-foot essay, was a question she never expected to see. She looked around with narrow eyes; however, not one person was in sight, nor were there any footsteps pattering away from her table.

She turned back to the parchment and whipped her wand out to check for any dark spells. She had not forgotten what happened in second year with Tom Riddle's diary.

Suspicion rising, she was about to crumple the hijacked piece of paper when it grew warm and more writing appeared on it.

 _ **I mean you no harm. I'm simply curious as to what it is since I've not been able to find information about it in any book in this library.**_

Hermione flattened the parchment and replied, "Who are you?"

 _ **A classmate. I guess. But I would reveal nothing more than that, Ms. Granger.**_

She looked around the library again but not one soul was in the area. ' _RMS Titanic'_ , she thought. She had not expected to come across that Muggle reference since it was not something that was normally discussed in Muggle Studies. Ships, perhaps, or a telly, but not the historic Titanic that sank in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean decades ago. "A classmate?", she asked herself. "Perhaps there's something new in Muggle Studies and they've got no clue how to answer their homework."

She wrote back, "You obviously know me. But that doesn't actually narrow down your identity. Is it for Muggle Studies homework?"

 _ **A passing curiosity.**_

Hermione quirked her eyebrow, somewhat annoyed. "Curiosity? I'm already too busy with N.E.W.T.S. I have no time for your trifle curiosity." She set the parchment aside and took a new one for her essay. She was about to write on it when words appeared on the fresh parchment.

"What in Merlin's name?" She abruptly stood up from her seat, crumpled the two parchments, and cried " _Incendio_ ". Her heart pounding, she also took out all her remaining parchment and burned it, too. Hoping that a classmate might be able to spare some parchment, she walked toward the more crowded part of the library with her bag and spotted Luna Lovegood.

"Hello Luna," she greeted, her eyes straying to the fluttering pixie wing clips on her friend's blonde hair. "Do you have some extra parchment I could use for my essay?"

"Here you go, Hermione. Did the plunnyworms nibble on yours?"

"The plunnywhat?"

"Plunnyworms. They're naughty creatures who try to block you from writing your thoughts," Luna replied pleasantly.

"Uh, no. Someone's playing a prank on me and spelled all my parchment so it would be two-way. Probably wanted to copy my Potions homework," Hermione replied. She proceeded to arrange her quill and reference books beside Luna.

"Hmmm…" Luna replied dreamily and returned to reading her book on magical creatures.

As soon as Hermione's quill touched the parchment, words appeared on the surface.

 _ **You don't trust me, I see. But you've got no choice, you know.**_

"What?" she shrieked loudly, causing Madam Pince to glare daggers at the pair of them.

"Quiet in my library Ms. Granger, or you could show yourself out."

"Sorry, Madam Pince," she bit out.

Luna looked at the parchment and offered a new one to Hermione.

"Thanks Luna. But… how could they do this?"

"You could use my quill if you want," Luna suggested.

Hermione took her quill and wrote on the new parchment.

 _ **You formed a contract with me by asking a question, Ms. Granger. A contract that would only be satisfied if we asked each other 20 questions or more for 20 days and answered back.**_

"A contract?" Hermione was baffled for a second and then remembered. "Shite, I asked who they were!" Her wide, panicked eyes looked at Luna. "What should I do?"

"I see. He asked you a question and you asked him his identity? Or her? Definitely sounds like a boy though," Luna mumbled.

"I won't be able to finish my homework if this keeps happening! And I still have to make the notices for the Halloween Soiree."

"You could just answer his question and see if that's enough to satisfy today's requirement."

Hermione looked at the parchment on her hand and additional words appeared.

 _ **You could just answer my question, Ms. Granger.**_

"Oh fine!" She scribbled her reply. _The RMS Titanic is a British and Muggle passenger ship that was supposed to be unsinkable, but was infamous for sinking back in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. Are you going to leave me alone now?_

 _ **If you wish. Thanks for answering. By the way, asking for one's identity is not counted as a question, but asking if I'm going to leave you alone – for today that is – counts. Until tomorrow. :)**_

"A smiling face?" she muttered angrily to Luna. "I should just report this to Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick. Maybe they know a counter-jinx."

"I wouldn't think so. It may be a charm, but it is also a contract after all," Luna replied lightly and played with her gnome earrings. "Whoever invented that charm is very clever."

"But what if it's someone… malicious? Or who has some nefarious plans?"

"They're just asking questions."

"But what if the spell forces me to answer them truthfully? I cannot divulge people's secrets."

"You could ask about it tomorrow. It will be like hitting two Nargles with one pebble."

Hermione gave Luna an uneasy smile.

"How's the preparations for the Halloween Soiree going by the way? Ernie was saying something about inter-house unity earlier before our class."

"Oh, right. We're going to put up a charm in the Great Hall such that no one will be able to recognize anyone. That way you could mingle with other people freely. We just need to put up notices regarding the mechanics, but this parchment person just had to interfere with my schedule." Hermione huffed in frustration.

"Don't worry Hermione. It'll be fun," Luna smiled cryptically.

0-0-0

True to the stranger's words, after their exchange of one set of questions, Hermione was able to write her essay in peace. She thought of listing twenty trite questions all at once but remembered that the requirement was to ask at least one question for twenty days, not twenty questions in total. Not wanting to give this stranger any satisfaction of winning, she went to bed early, but not before setting a parchment and a self-inking quill on the table beside her bed.

0-0-0

Day 2

To her utter dismay, a long question was written on the parchment when she woke up the next morning. Considering that it was only six in the morning, she concluded that whoever this person was, he or she was an early riser.

Not a single girl was awake in her dormitory. "Not a roommate, then," she thought sleepily. Blinking her eyes a bit, she read the question.

 _ **Suppose that the Titanic survived hitting the iceberg and only a few parts of it were damaged, so those part were replaced. Over the years, it sailed and delivered passengers to their destinations, then returned to its harbor. Every time it got damaged, it was repaired again and again until every part of it had been replaced with a new and sturdier one. Would it still be the Titanic that hit the iceberg? If not, at what point did it stop being the Titanic?**_

"Huh. That was unexpected." Biting the top of her quill, she thought of her reply.

 _I think that it would still be still the Titanic, but at the same time it wouldn't. Although every damaged part of it was replaced with a better one, the memories attached or associated with it would be the same. To another person it might be different, but to its owner perhaps it would still be the same Titanic that survived the iceberg and every other "tragedy" that befell it, and only became stronger in the process._

 _ **An interesting viewpoint. I quite agree.**_

"This is not too bad," she decided after the thought-provoking question. She fought the compulsion to ask a question of equal depth, instead choosing a boring one as a means to rebel on being forced into the contract.

 _What is your favorite colour?_

 _ **Oh come on! I asked you a very intriguing question and you ask me what my favorite color is. I never thought you'd shy away from brain exercises.**_

 _Just answer the question. I have essays to write._

 _ **Fine, be boring. And it's periwinkle blue.**_

 _A very specific colour for a man, I'm surprised!_

 _ **You're trying to trick me into telling you who I am. And phrasing it so that it won't be a question and I won't be compelled to ask another question. Brilliant and cunning, if I may say so. Alas, I've caught your tricks.**_

"How do I stop this?" Hermione asked herself. She recalled their conversation yesterday and wrote, _Until tomorrow._

She waited a few minutes, but not a single word appeared on the parchment. "I see," she grinned. "Brilliant, indeed."

0-0-0

Day 3

 _What house are you in?_

 _ **You seriously thought I would answer that question?**_

 _Not really. But that both answers my question and meets your question quota for the day._

 _ **Shite! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're suited to be a Slytherin. And I guess you also wanted to know if you can write that you refuse to answer a question, don't you?**_

 _No comment._

 _ **You have to ask another question, since I asked a new one.**_

 _Good Godric! Fine, yes. I wanted to know that too. Were you the one who jinxed me into this contract?_

 _ **I was curious what the Titanic is!**_

 _No you're not. Until -_

 _ **No don't say -**_

 _\- tomorrow!_

0-0-0

Day 4

 _ **What odor would you associate your childhood with? I waited until midnight to ask this, so if you could please answer it with sincerity…**_

 _Why do you want to know?_

 _ **I'm just curious.**_

 _Curiosity killed the cat._

 _ **Good thing I'm a wizard, then.**_

Hermione smiled. He _was_ a he. That significantly narrowed her list.

 _Apples. We had an apple tree in our backyard. Every Sunday during fall, my dad and I would pick apples. He would put me on his shoulders and I would reach up and pick them. My mum would then bake apple tarts and we would eat them with tea._

 _ **I love apples.**_

 _You keep supplying me with information about your identity._

 _ **As if. No one hates apples.**_

 _Why did you charm my parchment the first time?_

 _ **It seemed like a clever idea at that time.**_

 _At what time?_

 _ **That's two more questions, Ms. Granger. If I didn't know any better, I would think you're starting to enjoy this. And to answer your question, I refuse to answer.**_

 _Git._

 _ **I can totally imagine you huffing in annoyance.**_

 _You're an idiot. Just ask your questions so I can go back to editing my essay._

 _ **Okay, princess. A simple question then. Are you enjoying this?**_

 _No._

 _ **Now you know that you can lie.**_

 _I'm not lying!_

 _ **If you say so. ;)**_

 _Oh, you're insufferable! Get on with it!_

 _ **What lie do you tell most often?**_

 _It's alright._

 _…_ _ **I can relate to that.**_

 _Until tomorrow._

Day 5

A delivery owl cautiously dropped a box in front of Hermione the next day during breakfast. Thinking it was a package sent by her parents, she opened it only to find a single apple tart inside and a card.

 _ **What are the trivial things that make you feel better?**_

Hermione couldn't help smiling. Yesterday's set of questions brought about a wave of homesickness and longing for the memories of childhood traditions that she'd lost when beginning to attend Hogwarts. Not having any quill on her person since it was an early Saturday morning, she hurriedly finished her meal and went back to the Gryffindor tower to scribble a reply.

 _Apple tarts._

 _How about you?_

 _ **You can't think of another question, can you? I never thought I'd see the day that Granger would copy someone else's work.**_

 _I'm just honestly curious. I'll ask another question to appease you._

 _ **You're required to do that, you know. 'Cause I asked a second question for the day.**_

 _I know. :D_

 _ **Hmph.**_

 _Don't be a baby._

 _ **You.**_

 _What about me? Oops. That's my second question then._

 _ **You did that on purpose! And I'll leave it to your imagination.**_

 _Wait, but that's -_

 _ **Until tomorrow.**_

0-0-0

Day 6

 _Favorite subject?_

 _ **Someone's so eager to start her Ancient Runes homework.**_

 _It's a five-foot essay! On a topic I don't know much about._

'So he's in my Ancient Runes class,' Hermione thought as she made a mental list of the other students in said class.

 _ **Potions.**_

His reply made Hermione curious; however, she tried to stomp it down or else she won't be able to start her essay. She scribbled an _Okay_ and waited for his question.

Five minutes ticked by and Hermione was getting impatient with waiting.

 _You need to ask me a question._

Another five minutes passed, and her mild annoyance escalated to fury.

 _Hello._

 _Hey._

 _This isn't funny._

 _Hey, you git! I have a bloody essay to write so could you please fucking ask a question already?_

 _ **Calm your hippogriff, Granger. I was taking a shower, sorry.**_

 _Just ask the bloody question. My essay won't research itself._

 _ ***laughs* That is so you. Speaking of which, aside from studying like there's no tomorrow, what is something that most people wouldn't think you like, but that is actually a hidden side of you?**_

Hermione chewed her bottom lip and contemplated her answer, or if she should. The question was bordering personal but for some weird reason, she was beginning to trust this stranger and enjoy their interactions.

 _You're not going to tell someone else..._ She was starting to get the hang of making her questions seem like a statement instead of a query.

 _ **No. You can trust your deepest, darkest secret with me. ;)**_

 _Uhhh… I have a certain fascination with uhm… lacy stuff. I have a walk-in closet at home full of lacy and girly clothes, and Muggle make-up._

 _ **Huh.**_

 _You're surprised, too._

 _ **I never see you wear anything remotely girly.**_

 _We're required to wear robes, you dolt._

 _ **But during weekends and in Hogsmeade…**_

 _*eye rolls* I'm going to do my essay now. Until -_

 _ **No Granger! Just one more set of questions. Please.**_

 _But -_

 _ **Things just got interesting. I want to know more about you.**_

Hermione bit her lip in indecision. Looking at her clock, she noticed that it was only seven in the morning. The essay wasn't due until Friday that week. 'Just a few more minutes won't hurt.'

 _Okay. I want to ask the same question. What's something that people would be surprised to know about you? Make it as embarrassing as mine!_

 _ **Wh**_ _ **Yours is not embarrassing. It's surprising, but you're a girl. You're allowed to act like one.**_

 _Well, people have certain expectations of me._

 _ **Their expectations could go hang. You shouldn't let others dictate how you should act and who you should be.**_

 _That's unexpectedly sweet. Thank you._

 _ **I'm in love with someone. And it's someone people won't expect it to be.**_

 _Oh… Well they can go hang, too. No one should dictate who you fall in love with._

 _ **Aww. That's unexpectedly sweet.**_

 _You're mocking me._

 _ **Haha. Not exactly. Thanks, though.**_

 _You should ask her out on the Hogsmeade trip next week._

 _ **She'll just say no.**_

 _Surely you have some redeeming qualities…_

 _ **I'll try not to be offended by that. And yes, I would like to think I have some redeeming qualities. I'm handsome and charming, after all.**_

 _That's not the only characteristics a woman wants in a man. Not all of us are that superficial. I'm frowning at you now._

 _ **Haha. So what would be the qualities you would be looking for in a prospective boyfriend then?**_

 _Since the girl you're smitten with isn't at all impressed with your so-called handsomeness -_

 _ **Hey! It's the truth!**_

 _To see is to believe. As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, she might be looking for a man who's intelligent, mature, kind and thoughtful. You might be handsome, but if you're an obnoxious prat, she won't look your way. Nothing's more off-putting than a git who thinks so highly of himself._

 _ **Hmmm… Seems like you're referring to someone specific.**_

 _Men are gits in general. There's only a handful who aren't._

 _ **I guess that's enough for today. Off you go to your precious essay. Until tomorrow.**_

Hermione felt disappointment wash over her when he ended their conversation. She glanced at her clock and was startled to see that an hour had passed since she last checked the time, and that it was already time for breakfast. Deciding to study at the breakfast table, she packed her school bag and hurried to the Great Hall.

Turning to a corner, she bumped into someone. Her school bag burst open due to the impact and her eyes closed tight.

"Shite!"

She knew that voice. Not wanting him to get the first scathing remark out, she was about to chastise him for not looking ahead when she heard him apologize. "Sorry Granger." What shocked her the most was the next thing that happened.

Draco stooped down, fixed her bag with a quick _Reparo_ , and started picking up her books. Noticing her silence, he looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. That snapped her out of her reverie. She started gathering her other things.

"It's okay," she replied.

Her books and things neatly packed in her bag, they both stood up, not saying anything but sneaking looks at each other awkwardly while patting invisible dust out of their clothes.

"Uhm. Thanks, Malfoy."

"Oh, yeah. Uhm, no problem."

"Okay. I-uh, I'm going to class now."

"Right. See you later."

Hermione moved to the left to pass at the same time Draco moved to his right. She shuffled to her right but was again blocked as Draco moved to his left.

"Sorry. Go on ahead, Granger," he gestured to his right and Hermione could see the tips of his ears go pink.

'That was so awkward,' Hermione thought. 'And weird.'

0-0-0

Day 7

 _Good morning. I'm in a rush so I hope you respond promptly and ask your question for the day, too. What's Lethe river water used for?_ Hermione remembered that her mystery pen pal's favorite subject was potions. If he was indeed telling the truth, he would be able to answer this. She did not need to wait long for his answer.

 _ **It's used in the Forgetfulness Potion. Rumor has it that the Lethe river is where souls would drink water before reincarnation so that they would forget their past lives.**_

 _'_ Smart _,'_ Hermione thought as she read his detailed explanation. 'I could use this to figure out who he is _._ '

 _Brilliant. I'd give you house points for that but seeing as I do not know which house you are in, too bad._

 _ **You're not gonna trick me into revealing my house, Granger. I'm smarter than that. Anyway, since you're in quiz mode right now, what specific type of rowan will protect anyone from the attack of dark creatures?**_

 _It's the Wiggentree. I would love to quiz you more, but I have to go to class. Until tomorrow._

After breakfast, she hurried to her Alchemy class even though there were still twenty minutes before the first bell. The doors of the classroom were heavy and the hinges desperately needed oiling. Hermione was having a hard time opening the door due to the bulk of scrolls she was trying not to crush and wrinkle when a hand appeared above her head and slowly pushed it open. Looking up, she saw Draco towering over her, caging her slightly against the door with his arm. His grey eyes travelled to hers and she shuddered, heat rushing to her cheeks.

'Merlin, he smells nice _.'_ She scuffled inside as she realized the traitorous thoughts rising in her brain. She looked back at Draco and he was staring back with a blank look on his face. She wasn't used to this version of Draco Malfoy, without the snark and the cruelty. She wasn't used to him being civil and smelling like sandalwood and parchment. Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips as he opened his mouth and greeted her with a "Good morning." He shifted his book bag on his shoulder and her eyes flew to his hands. There was a slight smudge of blue ink on the underside of his palm. It was in deep contrast with the rest of his pristine clothes and his perfectly styled hair, and it mesmerized her. She wondered what a splash of ink would look like on his pale skin sans clothes.

She was having ink fantasies involving Draco bloody Malfoy. She jolted at the realization. Incensed at herself, she resorted to contempt. "What's your deal?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you being so nice?"

He frowned. "Would you rather I was unpleasant?"

"Are you planning something?"

"What?"

"You wouldn't be nice otherwise!" Hermione huffed. 'What am I saying? But then that's true right? Malfoy would never be nice to anyone who's not pureblood,' she rationalized.

"Why wouldn't I be nice-" He paused and his eyes narrowed. "Is this because you think I couldn't be nice to a Muggleborn?"

"Well, I'm a mudblood-"

"Don't you dare say that word!" he spat, his cheeks red in indignation. "You know what, never mind. I'll always be the despicable Draco Malfoy to you, anyway." Gritting his teeth, he knocked Hermione's shoulder as he passed and approached his seat. Before sitting down, he muttered, "I'm trying, you know. I'm trying to be better. But I guess I'm not allowed even an ounce of a chance for redemption."

She was about to reply when the door opened and students started entering the classroom.

0-0-0

Day 8

 _When was the last time you changed your belief about something big?_

Hermione had had a hard time sleeping the previous night. Memories of yesterday's encounter with Malfoy disconcerted her. It was true that it had been a long time since Malfoy directly antagonized her. Now that she thought of it, his retorts to Harry and Ron's goading was feeble at best lately, only sneering or gritting his teeth but not doing anything to aggravate the situation.

'Maybe I was being too judgmental.' She pursed her lips, clearly annoyed that there was a possibility that she was reading the situation wrong. She couldn't ask Harry or Ron about it seeing as their impression of Malfoy would probably never improve. So, she asked her anonymous friend.

She wasn't expecting a reply immediately since it was only six in the morning. Perhaps she was not the only one bothered by something.

 _ **During fourth year.**_

Hermione's forehead scrunched in thought. 'Was there something significant that happened in fourth year?' she wondered. She couldn't think of anything else besides the Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball. 'Maybe it wasn't something significant for most of us but for himself only?' Ignoring the urge to ask more questions, she waited patiently for his question.

 _ **Are you still in bed?**_

 _Yes. And that's a weird question._

 _ **Until tomorrow.**_

"Huh. It feels like he doesn't want to talk to me." Hermione muttered.

0-0-0

Day 9

 _ **What's your favorite flower?**_

Hermione frowned at the question. She wondered if whoever she was playing 20 questions with had already gotten bored with the game. Or maybe she did something to offend him without her realizing it.

When the whole thing started, Hermione thought of it as nothing but a nuisance that she needed to get over with first thing in the morning so as not to interfere with her studies. Now, however, she inwardly looked forward to their exchanges. She found their conversations oddly refreshing and entertaining.

This morning's question, however, was very mundane in her opinion.

 _I've never really thought of it._

 _ **O_o**_

 _Huh._

 _ **That's a face, Granger. I'm raising my eyebrow at you in disbelief.**_

 _Am I required to have a favorite flower just because I'm a girl?_

She only realized that she wasted her turn to ask a question when she put the dot on her question mark.

 _ **To answer your question, no, you are not required to have one just because you're a girl. I just thought you would have one since you're the type of person who KNOWS exactly what she wants in everything. By the way, mine's almond blossom. Until tomorrow.**_

"What the heck was that?" she exclaimed. Hermione felt pissed off at the thought that he was mad at her. She couldn't think of upsetting anyone these last few days. 'Wait, is he even really pissed off at me?' She wondered if she was making too big of a deal out of this. Besides, he was just some random classmate of hers, her brain rationalized.

Sighing loudly, she decided to make an early trek to the Great Hall and try to squeeze in some study time before her first class.

0-0-0

He was left-handed.

That was the first thing that crossed Hermione's mind when she sat down next to Malfoy for a pairs-activity in Advanced Ancient Runes. Their professor wasn't in the room when she arrived for class; however, instructions for the activity were already written on the board and worksheets were neatly stacked at the front table.

She subtly observed him from beneath her lashes as he continuously scribbled and copied the short guide provided to the pair for the activity. There was a smudge of blue ink on his lower palm and the side of his slender little finger, and Hermione couldn't help but watch as his hand moved to dip his quill into the inkpot. His nails were clean and trimmed.

"Can I help you with anything?"

As if in a trance, her eyes slowly drifted from his hands to his eyes and she stared.

"Granger, do you need the guide?"

"Guide?" In a matter of seconds, her brain cleared and she sat up straight in mortification. 'He caught me staring like an idiot! Why was I staring like an idiot?' her mind screamed. Her head jerked to her own worksheet and she bent down so her hair would cover her burning face. "No, sorry. I have it memorized already."

"If you say so," she heard him reply.

A few minutes passed, and Hermione was on the tenth question when she sneaked a quick look at his hand again. The ink was still there, but his wrist, his arm and his other fingers were as pristine as snow. She wanted to smudge the ink all over them.

Her eyes snapped to Draco's; he was staring right back at her with an expression that she couldn't discern. Then he gave her a small smile and turned back to his work.

Hermione's jaw fell. She felt her cheeks tingle and her heart suddenly thudded heavily in her chest. Her head snapped down to her parchment as her mind buzzed with disconcerting thoughts, 'That almost killed me. No, no way Hermione. You're just imagining that somersault your stomach did.' Her head fell to her hands as she groaned. 'Oh god, I'm so screwed.'

0-0-0

Day 10

 _She was pushing open the doors of the Alchemy classroom. A man wearing his Hogwarts uniform minus his robes was sitting on the edge of the teacher's table. Upon hearing her enter, he turned and his grey eyes pierced through hers. His green tie was hanging loosely around his neck, and his shirt was unbuttoned._

 _Her eyes drifted from his face down to his neck and his exposed chest. His skin was like alabaster, she noted, so pure, so immaculate. "I want to sully it."_

 _He gave her an indulgent smile and stretched his arms towards her. "Come, Granger."_

 _She moved towards him. There were some strands of his hair hanging in front of his eyes and she reached out to tuck them behind his ear, leaving deep blue smudges on his skin and hair. She hadn't even noticed that she had ink on her hand. His eyes closed at her touch. Mesmerized, her hand continued its trek down his neck and stopped at his chest. Her fingertips drew lines all over it, around his left nipple, and down to his bellybutton. She looked up at him as she tugged the waistband or his pants, yanking him towards her, and mumbled, "Not so pure anymore, Malfoy." And then she swiftly went down, pulling his trousers with her._

 _"_ _Fuck! Granger!"_

"Hermione… Hermione Granger!"

"What? What?" Hermione woke up with a start. "Ginny?"

Ginny was smirking down at her knowingly. "You're late, sleepyhead. Although I must say I can't blame you for not waking up."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm up as Ginny wiggled her eyebrows at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. Though I must say I'm surprised it's Draco Malfoy's name you're moaning in your sleep."

"I did not!"

"Your secret crush is safe with me. Go on, it's almost ten."

"Ten, what are you-" Hermione grabbed her clock to check the time and yelped. "I missed the first class? I missed the first class!" she yelled . In a frenzy, she jumped out of her bed and rushed to get her things together.

0-0-0

As she sat down at her desk for her next class, she saw a question on top of her parchment.

 _ **Are you okay?**_

So the news was out, Hermione Granger had missed a class.

 _I overslept. Did I miss a lot?_

 _ **No. I know you're itching to take down notes so… until tomorrow.**_

She was so thankful that their "session" didn't go long. Looking back at the blackboard, she started writing her notes.

0-0-0

"Granger."

Hermione blinked at him, surprised at the initiated interaction.

Draco looked awkward, standing in the hallway. He didn't look directly at her, and after a few agonizing moments, he ran his hand through his hair and took out a roll of parchment.

"I made a copy of my Ancient Runes notes. See you around." He mumbled the last part and walked away hurriedly without waiting for her to say anything in reply.

"That was so surreal." Hermione was still mulling about the weirdness of the situation as she sat down in the library and stared at the roll of parchment in her hands. Deciding that there was no harm in it, she carefully unrolled the parchment to find Draco Malfoy's neat handwriting. Skimming down to the end of the parchment, she was surprised to find it very detailed and exactly how she would take down her own notes.

She shouldn't be surprised, really, she thought. Draco was, after all, the second in their year.

Halfway through copying everything, she felt some sort of déjà vu as she read the contents of the parchment. She couldn't place her finger on what exactly felt familiar though. Shrugging, she spent the rest of her free period studying.

0-0-0

Day 11

Hermione woke up feeling hot all over, her heart beating fast in her chest. She tried going back to sleep but all she could see when her eyes are closed were blonde strands of hair plastered over a sweaty forehead, grey eyes intensely staring right back at her.

 _Uhnnn. Granger._

 _Such a good girl._

"Ugh." She pulled her hair. It was the second day in a row that she had dreamt of Draco Malfoy, in a not so innocent way. She was having dirty dreams about the Slytherin. 'Why?' her mind groaned.

'He's a mean egotistical prat,' her mind screamed. 'Handsome as hell, too.' She scrunched her eyes in frustration and an image of her legs up in the air flashed through her. 'Sweet Circe. Do I have a crush on him?' Her eyes went wide as saucers, horrified at the thought.

Like the Hermione Granger she was known to be, she decided to sort out her thoughts by jotting them down and making a list of reasons why she did/didn't have a crush on Draco ferret Malfoy.

She had written " _reasons why I don't"_ when she realized that she wouldn't be the only one to read said list. She almost had a mini heart attack; she was about to write " _reasons why I don't have a crush on Draco ferret Malfoy_ ".

Thinking for a few minutes, she took her quill and determined that asking for _his_ advice might give her an idea regarding her situation.

 _Do you believe people can change for the better?_

"Wow. Straight to the point Hermione," she told herself.

She was surprised to see a reply so soon. It was three in the morning, after all. _Is he even sleeping?_

 _ **The only thing that is constant is change.**_

"Muggle quote. He's not a pureblood then." She tucked that information away for later.

Additional writing appeared on the parchment.

 _ **I believe in change. I believe that people should be given a chance to correct their mistakes, to strive to be a better person. Just like you're not the person you were back when we were eleven. I'm not the same guy I was years ago. Just like the ship that has survived the stormy, turbulent ocean countless of times, being repaired over and over to make it stronger. Same ship… but different, too.**_

 _This brings me back to your earlier questions._

 _ **Yeah, you were pretty sour, though, at that time. But look at us now. Well, I'd like to think you're enjoying our conversations. ;)**_

 _No comment. ;P_

 _ **You're learning! I'm so proud of you.**_

 _In case you forgot, I'm the resident swot. Learning is what I do in my free time._

 _ **Joking too! Never would I have thought!**_

 _Just ask your question, git._

 _ **Would you believe it though, if a person has changed, or is trying to?**_

Hermione was about to reply yes when she realized that no, she wouldn't really believe it. She was even about to list earlier that Draco Malfoy was screwing with her mind.

 _I don't know_ , she wrote.

 _ **I see.**_

Hermione didn't know why but she suddenly felt guilty. 'Who am I to judge people, anyway?' she thought. She didn't want to be sanctimonious.

 _I feel bad. It would be great, though, if someone's trying to change for the better. I'm just afraid to trust people._

 _ **I want to ask another question.**_

 _It's three in the morning. We both know that we're having a hard time sleeping. Go on, ask._

 _ **How would you make someone believe you've changed?**_

 _Be consistent, I guess. It's hard to believe someone's changed, especially if he's been like that for seven years already. But if he's consistent with what he does, then people will believe eventually._

 _ **If I didn't know any better, I'd think you are referencing someone specific, Granger.**_

'Come, Granger.' Hermione smacked her head with a pillow when she recalled her dream. "No no no no no! I'm so screwed."

 _Do you have a crush?_

 _ **Woah. Are we getting personal now?**_

 _You don't have to answer that._

 _ **Yes, I do.**_

 _Do answer my question or do have a crush?_

 _ **I do have a crush. And we did talk about her before.**_

 _Oh. You're right. I remember now. How do you know you really like her?_

 _ **I wasn't sure at first. I admired her for a long time. But I wasn't sure if I like, liked her… you know. Not until I talked to her.**_

 _That makes sense. You have to talk to the person to actually know how you feel. Not by snogging the hell out of the person._

 _ **It's okay to name him, you know.**_

 _I don't know what you're talking about._

 _ **If you say so.**_

It was almost six in the morning when they were done talking. She decided to do what he had done and try to talk to Draco more before coming to any conclusions with regards to her attraction.

0-0-0

"Good morning." She tried not to blush – if that was even possible – as she sat down next to Draco in Advanced Arithmancy. Now that she was trying to figure out whether she was attracted to Draco or not, she noticed that they shared a lot of classes.

'Second in the year, Hermione,' she reminded herself.

If Draco was surprised by her greeting, he didn't show it. "Good morning. Not sleeping in today?" There was a teasing smirk on his face that made her face heat up.

"No. That won't happen again," she was able to reply stoically. Inside, she was feeling all fluttery. She scolded herself for acting like a schoolgirl with a huge crush. "Fuck."

"Everything okay there?" Draco asked when he heard her swear.

"Just dandy." However, not everything was dandy for the rest of the period. It was a bad idea to sit beside Draco. She was trying not to fidget in her seat or stare at his hand as he dipped his quill into the inkpot.

She had long accepted herself to be a bookworm, but this fetish of hers was taking it to the extreme. 'Of all kinks I could have, why is it with ink splattered on skin?' she thought morosely.

She remembered her dream, his chest, how he smelled like sandalwood and ink in her dreams. "So hot."

"What is?"

Her head rapidly turned towards Draco. "What's what?"

"What's hot?"

Hermione inwardly screamed at her slip. She did not realize that she said her thoughts out loud. Panicking, she blurted out, "The classroom."

"The classroom. In the middle of October," he deadpanned.

Hermione tried to keep a straight face even though she was wincing deep inside. "Yes."

"In Scotland."

"Uh-huh."

Draco frowned for a bit and then touched the back of his hand to her forehead. "You don't look sick. Although you're a bit red in the face."

She slapped his hand away. "I'm not."

He grimaced. "Sorry." Thinking she was bothered by his touch, he was about to move away when Hermione gripped his arm.

"I was just surprised," Hermione gasped. "Because you hate me."

He looked down at where she was touching him, and Hermione felt herself blush even more. "Sorry."

"Do you have anything to share with the class Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione looked up to the front of the class and saw Professor Vector staring down at the pair of them. She was more horrified to see their classmates' stares.

"I was just asking Granger about question five, Professor. I didn't quite get what you'd last said." He was staring at their professor's eyes directly, without stumbling over his words and even Hermione almost believed him.

"You have to touch her forehead for that, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I was trying to catch her attention."

"To ask about question five."

Hermione felt like sinking into the ground as she saw Professor Vector's disbelieving face. She wanted to make excuses too, but she knew she was bad at lying. Besides, Draco looked so natural as he stood by his lies.

"Yes, Professor."

Someone snickered loudly at the back. "Catch her attention, you did." More murmurs and snickers erupted.

Seeing that she was slowly losing the class' attention, the professor went back to the blackboard and pointed out question five. "Let's go back and discuss question five for Mr. Malfoy's benefit."

0-0-0

"So... Harry and I are going as the wolf and little Red Riding Hood on the Halloween Party," was Ginny's first greeting during lunch.

"What? No! You're ruining the whole goal of the party which is -" Hermione replied indignantly but was cut off by the redhead.

"Yes, yes. We know. It's for inter-house unity and all that shite. Don't worry, we'll still mingle with others. I just wanted to dress up with Harry now that we're officially going out." Noticing Hermione's irate expression she decided to change the topic. "I heard Malfoy was caressing your face in Advanced Arithmancy."

"Oh gods. This is the only time I'm so happy Harry and Ron aren't around." Hermione groaned and hid her face behind her hands. "No caressing happened. He was just asking a question."

Ginny placed her hand on Hermione's cheek.

"What are you doing?" Hermione shrieked.

"I wanted to ask a question," Ginny grinned mischievously.

"No one does that! And that's freaky."

"Worked for Malfoy." Ginny shrugged. "Speaking of the ferret, he's staring at you."

"What, no way!" Hermione snapped her head towards the Slytherin table, but the blond was nowhere in sight.

Ginny snickered. "You're all red in the face."

0-0-0

Day 12

She was itching to tell someone about her predicament. She considered telling Ginny, but she was worried that Ginny might accidentally tell Harry and Ron. That could only end in disaster. She flushed as she remembered his slightly calloused hands brushing against her forehead. The situation was totally unfair in her opinion. She didn't want to be flustered because of a crush on Draco of all people.

'But I'm dreaming of doing unspeakable things to him.' She wondered if there was something wrong with her, getting attracted to her childhood bully. It just didn't make sense. Although now that she thought of it, he hadn't done anything to antagonize her this school year. It didn't help that he looks so attractive.

The color drained from her face as the thought of him discovering her crush entered her mind. She was almost entirely sure that her face turned red when he touched her. She groaned in frustration when she remembered acting awkward and fidgety around him lately.

"Oh Merlin, what should I do?" And then she remembered what her mother told her a few years before when she didn't want to go watch a horror movie with their neighbors. 'Things are always less scary when someone else is more scared than you. It'll be fun watching dad go nuts as Sadako exits the well.'

She'd just have to make Draco feel more awkward than she did when they interacted. It would probably be fun watching him squirm like she had during Advanced Arithmancy. Having figured out a temporary solution to her woes, she set on planning what to do and asking advice indirectly from another guy.

 _What do you first notice in a girl?_

 _ **Her hair, I guess.**_

 _Huh. I didn't expect that._

 _ **Amongst other things. ;)**_

 _I appreciate you not mentioning those things._

 _ **Got any blokes to seduce?**_

It took a while before Hermione could come up with an answer.

 _Don't be ridiculous. Ginny asked me._

 _ **And you hate that you don't know the answer.**_

 _I'm not a boy._

 _ **Her smile, too.**_

 _Oh, okay. Although that's kind of generic._

 _ **You're the one who asked.**_

 _Do men hate it when women are smarter than them?_

 _ **I hope this isn't a trick question. But I'll be honest. Most of the time, yes. Men don't like to feel inferior. It's a pride thing, I guess. However, you don't have to change just to appease a man's pride. That's not a way to a happy relationship. As long as you don't treat someone like a lesser human being for not being smarter than you then everything's all good.**_

 _Wow, that's very insightful. And I don't do that, I think. I might need to reflect more on that later._

 _ **What do women look for in prospective partners?**_

 _I don't want to speak in general but in my opinion, someone who's kind, has a nice smile and can keep up with a conversation with a girl are the top things I could think of. He also has to be neat, not excessively so, but enough that he knows he needs to shower after a Quidditch match or after two days of not showering before doing anything else. Someone who won't belittle a woman's intellectual capacity and who could take constructive criticisms well._

 _ **That was short. You could replace "someone" with a name. I won't tell.**_

 _No comment. I'm going to sleep now. Until tomorrow._

With that, she set down the parchment and went to sleep.

0-0-0

Day 13

A school owl dropped a small bouquet of flowers in various shades of purple in front of Hermione during breakfast. Hermione looked around but only a handful of students were in the room, and no one paid attention to her and her flowers. A small card fell from it when she lifted the bouquet. She recognized the handwriting.

 _ **And the search for your favorite flower begins. This is viscaria, by the way.**_

She smiled at first and then frowned as she felt butterflies on her stomach. Wasn't she supposed to have a tiny crush on Malfoy? Why was she getting butterflies because of an unknown man? She pondered more on these thoughts as she absentmindedly chewed her toast. After a while, she decided that there was no time like the present to investigate what she really felt. She just needed to find Draco after some preparation.

* * *

After trying to tie her hair in a loose herringbone braid, she gathered her things and proceeded to the Quidditch pitch after looking for Draco using the Marauder's Map she'd borrowed from Harry. Ron and Harry did not even look up from the chessboard when she asked for it. Making excuses of wanting to read her book in peace, she got out of the common room and went towards the pitch. She wished her hair would cooperate despite the wind and the light humidity outside and not turn into a nightmare before she could test her pen pal's advice.

She was a little disappointed when she arrived and Draco was nowhere in sight. Deciding to wait a little while in case he suddenly came back, she sat at the Gryffindor side of the stands and opened her book on Magical Plants found in the Amazon. She was so engrossed in her book that she didn't notice Draco flying toward her until he was directly in front of her. He was looking at her hair.

"Do you need something Malfoy?" she asked coolly whilst trying to calm her fast-beating heart.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, his eyebrow slightly lifted questioningly.

"I'm reading. As you can see." She winced inwardly as she heard herself say that in a haughty tone. If he was offended, he did not show it. He seemed to be debating to say something in reply, but instead just sighed. Hermione tried to hide her dismay at her plan's imminent failure as she saw Draco turn his broom to fly away. Before he took off to the sky, she heard him say something.

"Your hair. It suits you."

0-0-0

"Are you okay Hermione? You keep on spacing out," Harry asked her. She was back in the common room with an uncharacteristic cheerfulness in her gait. She forced both Harry and Ron to take out their respective homework and offered to proof-read their essays a little bit forcefully.

"She's gone bonkers because of all that studying," Ron commented as he begrudgingly looked up the plant he was writing a Potions essay on . "I'm done. Could you proofread it, 'Mione?"

Hermione took his essay and was about to reach for the quill when she realized she hadn't written anything to her pen pal. Trying not to seem like anything was out of the ordinary, she slowly put down the pen and started reading his essay. A quarter through it, she turned to him and started pointing out

"Can't you just mark them on paper and I'll edit them later?" Ron whined.

"It's not my bloody paper, is it?" she retorted.

Ron grumbled as Harry looked at Hermione questioningly. "I'm going back to my dorm," she said as she gathered her things and went upstairs.

0-0-0

She sat on her bed and tried to come up with an interesting question.

 _If you could go back to a certain time in your life, when would that be?_

 _ **All those times I've said cruel things to the girl I like because my pride was hurt. It was stupid and immature, but I'm trying not to do that again.**_

Hermione waited for a few minutes for him to ask her a question. She's itching to get the conversation over since she needed to finalize the plans for the Halloween soiree.

 _ **Will you save me one dance during the soiree?**_

"Right when I was thinking about the party. What does he even mean by save one dance?" Hermione muttered to herself. Pushing back some rebellious curls that had escaped her braid, she scribbled a reply.

 _Just to clarify. It's just a dance. Not a date._

 _ **Not a date, Head Girl Granger. I just want to dance with one of my friends since it's our last year already. Assuming that we are, indeed, friends.**_

 _I suppose. Despite pulling this stupid prank on me, you haven't spread around my secrets. I guess you could be my friend._

 _ **So generous of you.**_

 _I hope you're not sarcastic._

 _ **;)**_

 _You do know that during the Halloween soiree, no one will be able to recognize anyone due to the mystery theme of the party. When you go to the Great Hall, everyone's physical characteristics will change. And there's a long maze-like passageway to purposely separate people so they'll be able to interact with others besides their friends._

 _ **I've read the notice, Head Girl. Even if it's mostly made up of man-eating paragraphs.**_

 _They aren't that long! I just want to make sure everyone understands especially the goal of the soiree._

 _ **I perfectly understand. You want people to venture out of their comfort zone and interact with others without their prejudice. I'll be dressed as Hades of the Underworld.**_

 _Classic. There will be others dressed like that, and that the venue will be rather dark._

 _ **I know.**_

 _You're waiting for me to tell you what I'll be wearing. I'm not going to tell you anything except that I'll wear a flower wreath on my head._

 _ **I could only guess that you have no idea what to wear. To think that you're very organized.**_

 _Sod off. I need to do tons of things. Until tomorrow._

Hermione grimaced. She's got a lot of things on her plate that her costume for the soiree was the furthest from her mind. Looking at the lilacs she placed on her side table, she decided to wear a long, flowy summer dress and just put random flowers on her hair and be a flower nymph or something similar. That way, she didn't even need to do think too much about her shoes or what to do with her hair aside from taming it a little bit. Satisfied with her decision, she packed her things and went to the library.

0-0-0

Day 14

Today she decided to arrange her hair in a braided crown with the ends of the braid tied at the back of her head like a half ponytail.

 _"_ _Your hair. It suits you."_ She smiled at the memory. Never would she have thought that she'll be doing girly things like this on purpose, let alone for Draco Malfoy. When she went back to their dormitory, an owl carrying a small parcel was pecking on their window.

She opened the parcel and saw a small bottle with miniature white gardenias and a parchment.

 _ **If you could find out how you're going to die, would you want to know?**_

 _I hope this isn't something Trelawney said._

 _ **No it isn't.**_

 _No, I wouldn't want to know. Cause if I knew, I might not be able to enjoy every day I'm still alive since I'd be dreading that day and trying to find ways to escape death._

 _ **Makes sense.**_

 _That's a morbid question though. Anyway, do you want to live forever?_

 _ **Huh. I never really thought about that. I guess because I'm selfish, I want to die before my lover dies.**_

 _That is pretty selfish. But I kind of understand. No one wants to grieve._

 _ **It's hard to be alone. Until tomorrow.**_

0-0-0

Day 15

A few stems of light purple lilacs sat between the pages of the book she left on her table when she went away to get more references for the essay she was about to right.

 _Did you send me another flower?_

 _ **Yes. Have you found your favorite flower yet?**_

 _Why are you sending me flowers? Please don't tell me it's me you're crushing on._

 _ **Would it be that bad if I am?**_

 _I… I have to go. Until tomorrow._

 _He's in the library right now._ Hermione can feel ringing in her ears as she rushed to gather her things and get out of the library. She felt out of her element. Sure, she and Ron had something romantic going on at the end of 6th year albeit that did not last long since everything felt awkward for her. She was glad when he agreed that they're better of as friends. She knew she was a late bloomer; besides Ron – and Draco recently – she did not have any experience with anyone being attracted or confessing their attraction to her. She did not know how to respond to what he said. She wondered if he was serious, or if this was just one of his hypothetical questions he loves asking her. Either way, she did not want to face it now as she had a lot of things on her plate already.

Advanced potions was her next class. To add to the stress she was currently feeling, her hair tie decided to snap right in the middle of her brewing and into her cauldron. With amazing reflexes, she vanished the contents of her cauldron before it does something bad.

"Fan-fucking-tastic.", she bit out. Looking at the clock, she hurriedly prepared another set of ingredients. It was a bit of a challenge though as her hair keeps falling all over her face. She was pushing her hair back for the tenth time when warm fingers gently pulled it back. Turning slightly, she saw Malfoy with a pensive look on his face smoothing her hair and tying it together with an elastic. Her gaze automatically fell to his hand. There was no ink this time, but he could now see the blue-green veins running through it, and the light hairs on his arm. She looked back at Draco but he did not say anything and went back to his own table behind her after tying her hair.

0-0-0

She lied in her bed that night, her hands outstretched upwards as she stared at them. She was in a daze for the rest of the day after Advanced Potions, looking repeatedly at people's hands and finding herself comparing them to Draco's. She was not used to being affected by a boy like this before and it both unnerved and excited her. All her life, she was so focused on her studies. ' _It wouldn't really be so bad to explore this part of me though'_ , she thought. She tried remembering what his hands felt and looked like.

They were soft, indicative of his privileged upbringing. They were larger than hers and looked very strong. She imagined his left hands slightly tangling itself in her curls, pulling it slightly away from her. She felt warmth pool below her belly as she imagined his other hand gathering hers and placing it above her head, by the doors of the Alchemy classroom, as he stood behind her, the smell of sandalwood and parchment permeating her senses. She closed her eyes as she imagined his body pressing hers to the doors, those treacherous hands of his gliding down to the sides of her breasts, down to his stomach to pull her robes upward.

She completely forgot about her worries about her pen pal.

0-0-0

Day 16

She frowned at the parchment in her hands.

 _ **Sorry. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I hope we'll still be friends.**_

 _Oh. Uhm. It's okay._

 _ **Will you still dance with me tomorrow?**_

Hermione – in her haste to avoid a possible confrontation involving feelings – blurted out in the parchment, _I like somebody else. But it's okay if it's just as friends._

 _ **Oh.**_

 _ **Wait, you don't even know me.**_

 _I'm very sure you're not him._

 _ **Right. Well, have fun with your date with him tomorrow.**_

 _There's no date happening tomorrow. Have you forgotten the mechanics?_

 _ **Ah. Yeah. It's a friendly kind of event. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Until tomorrow.**_

Hermione sighed deeply. _One predicament down. Next would be dealing with my attraction to Malfoy._

0-0-0

She sat next to him inside the library. She wondered if he could smell the vanilla scent she spritzed on her. She had read in a muggle magazine that men like sweet food-based scents like vanilla and cinnamon. She wondered for a moment if there was a scientific or psychological basis for that. "Hello.", she greeted.

Draco turned his head and nodded at her, "Hello." He went back to writing on his parchment.

Hermione flushed. These past few days, she felt like all she could hear was the beating of her heart. It was so odd seeing herself act like this, but it was also exhilarating at the same time. Breathing deeply, she turned to him to ask some questions regarding their essay as a pretense to talk to him. She didn't comment though when she noticed that he slowly inched his parchment away from her.

The afternoon turned out to be a group study kind of thing. Hermione was totally pleased that she was able to accomplish two goals at the same time: talk with Draco and know more about him and finish her essay on Advanced Potions.

Now if only she could discover what he'll be wearing for tomorrow's soiree.

0-0-0

Day 17

 _ **What risks are worth taking?**_

The message was written in a parchment sitting on her bedside table, with a long stem of bluish-violet flowers on top of it.

It took her a while to reply, but she scribbled a single word after a few minutes.

 _Love._

 _What's the name of this flower?_

 _ **Delphinium. For infinite possibilities. Until tomorrow.**_

Hermione studied the stem of delphinium in her hand. ' _They're very beautiful',_ she thought. Still deep in thought, she did not notice Ginny creep into their dorm with a bag and a hanger of clothes in her hands.

"Hermione! Just the person I was looking for. What are you wearing for later?" Ginny asked. Her gaze then fell to the flowers. "Wow, those are beautiful. Who gave them to you?"

Not wanting Ginny to interrogate her further, she lied, "It's part of my costume.".

"A flower wreath? Better cast a stasis charm on it then. The party won't be until later in the evening. It's a good thing classes are suspended today."

"I totally don't know why Professor Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to host the Halloween Soiree on a Thursday, when there's still class tomorrow."

"Well, it's October 31st today. Are you doing anything else today?" Ginny flopped on her bed.

"I need to double-check on the decorations in the Great Hall after breakfast and then Ernie and I will proceed on charming the maze that will be the entrance for the Great Hall today."

"I wonder what color my hair will be. What else will change again?"

"Just the color of everyone's hair and eyes as well as the voice. Nothing too drastic though. It was already too difficult to cast this one."

"That's still a pretty amazing spell, mind you."

Hermione smiled at that.

0-0-0

Hermione walked through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts. Most students are already at the Great Hall but she decided to go a little bit late, so no one would recognize her due to her outfit once inside the venue.

She turned into a corner and noticed light coming from one of the supposedly empty classrooms at the end of the corridor. Curiosity got the better of her and she slowly crept inside the classroom. There at the corner was Draco who had just unfastened his black robes and was about to remove them off him. He turned when he heard her squeak out of surprise.

She saw his eyes widen a bit and then glide down from her face to her bare feet and then up to the blue delphiniums adorning her crown. "What are you doing here Granger?"

She could feel her face redden. To hide her embarrassment she bit back, "I should be asking that of you. Are you skiving off from the festivities? Not wanting to mingle with us common folk?"

Draco frowned at her last sentence. "Don't go presuming anything about me Granger," he said bitterly.

"I – Sorry. That was uncalled for. I – "

"Save it," he hissed. "I was about to change for the party before you barged in here." He gathered his things and was about to leave when Hermione grabbed at his arm in alarm. "Where are you going?"

"Leaving. I can see that I won't be welcomed there so why bother?"

"No! You have to go!" She blabbered, not knowing what else to say. She totally screwed the evening already by resorting to her previous defenses against Draco's verbal attacks. "What's your costume?"

He only narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm going as some random woodland sprite. Ginny told me I look like I was dressed as Persephone though. Well, I guess that's better than people realizing I didn't prepare at all and just transfigured my bedsheets into this dress. I don't like not being prepared," she droned on in her nervousness.

"Those are your bedsheets?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes. Now show me your costume. It's only fair. You'll be able to recognize me in the party. I should too," she demanded snottily.

"You want me to change right now?"

"Yes."

"In front of you?"

Hermione's mind was going on overdrive. "You're going to escape to Godric knows where or worse, not attend the party! I have to see," she insisted.

Draco expression looked torn. Hermione felt guilty that she was enjoying the various changes in his expression in a short amount of time. Anger, disbelief, and now it looked like he was thinking of something mischievous and naughty.

She absentmindedly licked her lips. Draco's eyes darkened.

Without a word, he put down his belongings and robe on the desk beside him. Without breaking eye contact, he undid the buttons of his white Hogwarts uniform. Hermione's eyes stared at his fingers as it worked on the buttons and at the white skin that was revealed as each button came undone. She felt herself slowly coming undone with them. She gulped.

As he shuck his shirt to the floor, her eyes dropped to the thin wiry hair below his belly button and her gaze followed its trail down and inside his trousers.

Those long fingers fiddled with the buttons of his trousers and Hermione looked up to see Draco raising his eyebrow at her. "Are you sure Granger? Do you really want me to show you?"

"I – I – "

He walked towards where she stood and stopped a few inches in front of her. He was so close that Hermione could smell the spice mixed with the scent of sandalwood that she had since associated with him ever since that incident in front of the Alchemy classroom. Her breathe turned ragged as she realized that there was the scent of ink mixed with it.

 _'_ _Bloody ink'_ , she thought.

She closed her eyes when she felt Draco's face going down. A few seconds later which in Hermione's opinion felt like hours, she felt Draco's breathe on her ear. "Never pegged you for a voyeur Hermione Granger."

She felt clothing on her face and opened her eyes only to be met with the black of his robes. She pulled it off of her and saw him by the door of the classroom. Draco was smirking at her as he saluted, "I'll change somewhere else Head Girl Granger. Don't worry, I'll still attend."

"Good Godric." Hermione sat down on her heels and covered her face in embarrassment.

0-0-0

The party was in full swing when Hermione arrived. She could barely recognize anyone save for Ernie - he kept describing his outfit to her earlier while they were putting on the charm – due to the changes in their appearance and the masks hiding almost half of their faces. She was sure none of her friends would recognize her too aside from Ginny who helped her dress. Her now blonde locks complemented the blue delphinium flowers and the wispy green dress she was wearing.

She had just finished dancing with Ernie when someone approached them and tapped her shoulder.

"I believe you owe me a dance."

Hermione stared at the newcomer. She's sure that it was her pen pal due to his Hades costume. His hair reached past his shoulders and is as black as his billowing cloak. He offered his hand out to Hermione. Now was the perfect time to discern his identity, she resolved.

"Hello Persephone. Did you specifically wear that for me?" His dark grey eyes were twinkling as he teased her.

"I'm not Persephone."

"Flowers on your blonde hair, green dress the color of spring? Doesn't that sound like Persephone to you?" He twirled her once, twice.

"There's no definitive color for Persephone's hair." He chuckled as she corrected him.

"If you say so."

Hermione could feel a slight de ja vu again. There was something familiar with the boy dancing with her and judging from his gait and built she felt like she knows him well. She could vaguely catch the lyrics of the new song that played because she was distracted from the puzzle that was his identity. She stared at his face but the black mask that was in deep contrast with his fair skin was making it hard for her.

 _'_ _Fair, white skin.'_ Her thoughts drifted to Draco's as she remembered him undressing earlier in front of her. She wondered if he was here already and if she would be able to dance with him by chance.

"Knut for your thoughts?"

"Oh! Sorry. I was just thinking that people are mingling without thinking of House Rivalries and it's been fun. I'm very glad that this event was a success," she prevaricated. "So far."

It seems like she spoke too soon. As the clock stroke twelve, two voices boomed across the Great Hall. "TRICK OR TREAT CINDERELLAS!"

"What did you do Lee and Seamus?" Ernie screamed from somewhere among the crowd. Cackles were heard as the duo ran to the exit. People are looking around at each other and gasping as they saw everyone's appearances turn back to normal. Once Hermione noticed that the spell was broken, she turned her head to her dance partner. He was staring at her in wide blue-grey eyes.

"Malfoy? It was you?"

"Granger let me explain," he pleaded and was about to grasp her arm, so she won't leave but she flinched from his touch.

"You tampered with my parchment. I told you things! Merlin, I told you my bloody secrets," she snatched her flower crown and threw it at his face. "You snake!"

She pushed through the crowd to get away from him.

0-0-0

Day 18

 _ **Granger, I'm sorry if I tricked you. But please believe that I won't betray your trust.**_

Hermione crumpled the parchment as soon as she saw the message written there. "If you think that I'd need to write notes to survive my classes, then you're wrong," she grumbled, anger and humiliation filling her. She could not believe that he invaded her privacy and her thoughts. "And here I thought he's not the same git anymore. I can't believe I'm crushing on him."

She was still scowling when she sat beside Ron and Harry during breakfast.

"So… you and Malfoy," Harry started.

"Don't even go there Harry."

"I was dancing with Pansy Parkinson last night," Ron replied. "The soiree was your idea Mione."

"It worked, didn't it. People had fun with others despite their houses." The cup holding her coffee clunked against her plate loudly as she set it down.

"I didn't even like Parkinson," Ron whined. Hermione ignored him as she prepared her coffee.

"You're putting too much sugar Hermione. Never mind," Harry cautioned but cut himself off as her eyes narrowed at him.

0-0-0

Everything was going smoothly so far for Hermione even without doing any note-taking until Advanced Potions.

"Let's see if anyone of you has actually done their jobs and read the chapter I assigned to you. Parchment and quill only on your desks," Snape announced as soon as everyone has settled down.

Hermione's eyes went wide, and she looked at Draco who was staring at him apologetically. She glared at him before raising her hands. "Professor, I have a slight problem."

"It's not my problem, is it?"

"Someone tampered with my parchment," she said.

Snape was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll be leaving to deal with Ms. Granger here. Don't let me catch you cheating on this test or else… the whole class will suffer the consequences." He motioned to Hermione. "Follow me to my office Ms. Granger."

Draco stood from his seat at the back and muttered, "I should probably come too Professor."

Snape leveled a stare to both. "Very well."

Once inside his office, Snape looked at the two of them, "Explain."

"I – I put a charm on Granger such that anywhere she writes would be two-way."

"I didn't expect you to resort to cheating Draco."

Hermione scoffed, "Not cheating, but finding ways to blackmail and humiliate me."

"It's not because of that! If you'll just listen – "

"Why would I even trust anything you say, you slimy – "

"Silence!", Snape interrupted their arguments. "Draco, I want you to undo the charm now."

"There's no counter-charm. It will stop once Granger and I each ask the other with at least one question." Draco explained morosely.

"That easy? And you couldn't do it before Potions so as not to disrupt my class Ms. Granger?"

"Why is it my fault?" Hermione replied indignantly.

"10 points from Gryffindor and Slytherin. And detention tomorrow for the two of you."

"But – "

"Do you want me to make that 50, Ms. Granger? Good. Now I expect you to fix this right now and go back to the classroom afterwards. I'll make no extension whatsoever to the length of time for the test." Snape said and then left the room. Two parchments and sets of quills appeared on the table.

"Let's just get this over with." Malfoy said, resigned.

 _ **Will you ever forgive me?**_

 _No. Are you an idiot?_

 _ **If you'll only**_

 _Until tomorrow._

Hermione left the classroom hurriedly.

0-0-0

A bouquet of purple hyacinths sat on top of her books in her usual corner in the library. It wasn't even 10 minutes since she left her desk to get more reference books and take advantage of the fact that she could now write in any parchment for the rest of the day. Beside it was a folded note. Hermione wanted to crumple it at first but gave in to her curiosity.

 _ **Yes, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry.**_

"Those are lovely flowers Hermione. You should forgive him.", a wispy voice said behind her.

"Luna! Don't go sneaking on people like that. You gave me a fright." Hermione held the note close into her bosom. "Did you just read my note?"

"No I didn't," she smiled and gestured at the flowers. "Didn't you know that purple hyacinths symbolize asking for forgiveness and sorrow?"

Hermione frowned, "I've never really paid attention to flowers unless it's for Herbology or Potions."

"The blue delphinium crown you wore yesterday was really beautiful too. It was really fun dancing with Blaise Zabini. Interacting with people from other Houses opened new opportunities." Luna sat beside her and smelled the hyacinths.

 _'_ _New opportunities?'_. Something was slowly clicking into place in Hermione's mind. "What did you say Luna?"

"Your flower crown is beautiful," Luna smiled cryptically.

Thinking back on all the flowers Malfoy sent her, she wrote a short list on a parchment and gave it to Luna. "Will you tell me what those flowers symbolize?"

"What color are the flowers?"

"Those matter?"

"Yes. Flowers are pretty interesting, don't you think?"

Hermione didn't look convinced but gave the parchment back with the flowers' colors.

 _purple viscaria_

 _white gardenia_

 _purple lilacs_

"Hmmm…" Luna wrote various words besides each flower. After finishing, she stood up and said, "Sorry Hermione. I need to go to the Black Lake now. Blaise is meeting me there." She handed Hermione the parchment and skipped to the exit.

 _purple viscaria – invitation to dance_

 _white gardenia – "You are lovely.", can also mean secret love_

 _purple lilacs – first love_

 _He or she seemed sincere Hermione._

Hermione was flabbergasted. "But this is ridiculous. Malfoy, pureblood extraordinaire, is in love with me? Pshh. I doubt it," Hermione muttered to herself. _'But what if he really is?'_ , her mind traitorously added. She looked around the library but only saw Ravenclaws milling about.

0-0-0

Day 19

 _ **You could obliviate me if you want. I'll even let you use my wand.**_

Hermione wondered if she should reply. He sounds very sincere in asking for her forgiveness, but she was afraid to trust him. It's not as if she really did reveal anything hugely important or degrading. _'Was I making a mountain out of a molehill?'_ , she wondered. _'Maybe I should heed Luna's advice.'_

She wouldn't admit it out loud; however, she's secretly pleased and giddy that Draco had some sort of attraction towards her. Still torn with what to do, she decided to procrastinate and just deal with it later.

0-0-0

Soon enough, the time for their detention came. Hermione braced herself as she entered the Potions classroom. Draco was already sitting inside but didn't say anything when she settled three chairs away from him. Snape entered the room and gave each of them a list.

"Prepare those ingredients precisely as I've written them. There are vials and bottles in the cupboard at the left. Make sure you label them properly. I'll be back after two hours and check your work." He left the room right after that.

Hermione was in the middle of chopping the Valerian root when Draco spoke up at the other side of the room. "Would you even talk to me if I did approach you?"

"You could've tried at least," she gritted her teeth.

"You snapped at me in the Alchemy classroom, remember. I was perfectly nice."

"Well, you were a smarmy git before that. It's suspicious."

Draco's expression turned grim. He didn't say anything after that.

They went back to work. More than an hour passed in silence and Hermione was already feeling guilty, awkward and confused at the same time. She was about to open her mouth and break the silence when Snape walked in and dismissed the two of them. Draco was already gone when she walked out into the hallways.

0-0-0

She was about to go to sleep when she noticed writings on the parchment by her bedside. She hadn't shaken of the habit she developed of leaving a parchment on her bedside table.

 _ **I just want to ask you to the soiree to be honest.**_

She hastily got out a quill and ink. _So, you thought it's a good idea to charm my parchment and hinder my education to do that. Are you an idiot?_

 _ **I thought we've established that. And I thought I'm being cunning and all.**_

 _Why did you even send those flowers?_

 _ **Oh, so you caught on to that.**_

 _Malfoy… Why should I even believe you. You've been horrible to me and my friends for the past few years._

 _ **I'm sorry. I have no excuse besides from being an egotistical prat. But I've tried not to, believe me. Well, towards you I guess.**_

 _Since when?_

 _ **When I stopped harassing you or when I realized I like you?**_

 _Either way…_

 _ **During the 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **year Yule Ball, I thought you were really pretty. But that's it. I'd be lying if I say that it was love at first sight because it's not. I thought to myself at that time – don't hit me for sounding condescending – 'Why Granger could actually be pretty if she cleans up'. Imagine my surprise when the next day I saw you laughing with Lovegood and the youngest Weasley, your hair back to its bushy and untamed appearance, and no beautiful dress on you and I still couldn't take my eyes off you.**_

 _That sounds really sappy._ Hermione scribbled after a while since she was busy fighting off the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

 _ **Haha. You're right. It's easier admitting these things to you since there's a parchment between us. Not everyone could be brave like you Gryffindors.**_

 _You could just be honest and upfront. It's hard to tell if you're telling the truth without me seeing your face or hearing the tone of your voice._

 _ **Okay.**_

 _'_ _Okay, okay what?',_ she wondered. She decided to wait for more explanation but several minutes passed without a single letter appearing on the parchment. She was about to write _until tomorrow_ when a sentence appeared on the parchment that made her heart skip and the butterflies to run amok.

 _ **Meet me outside?**_

0-0-0

When she opened the door to the outside of the Griffindor common room, Draco turned and gaped at her. She wondered if it was due to her unpresentable appearance. She was totally flushed, her hair sticking out in all directions due to the humidity and since she was about to sleep, and her night clothes totally rumpled.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not exactly lounging about in perfectly-pressed robes at this time of the hour," she snapped to hide the sudden feeling of embarrassment. _'Git or not, I'm still attracted to him_ ', she thought begrudgingly.

"No it's not… I – Damn. This is hard.", he fumbled with his words. He breathed deeply as if preparing himself and said, "I like you Hermione Granger. And I couldn't think of anything else to do to catch your attention, let alone befriend you besides resorting to Slytherin means."

"Wait!" She tried cutting him off. Gryffindor or not, she's not ready for this kind of confrontation yet, face to face.

"No, let me finish first before I lose what little courage I gathered tonight. I know I've been a git. The things I did were inexcusable. But I want to make it up to you. I'd even be nice to your friends if you so wish it. I want you to see that I'm not the same Draco you've known since we were 11 years old. Over and over, I tried to change, to strip away the prejudice I grew up with, and be a better person. It was hard, but I feel like I could do it. I'm just like the ship, Granger. I'm different, I could be better, yet I'm still Draco Malfoy."

"Did you just research for a muggle ship and replaced the Ship of Theseus paradox so you'd be able to relate yourself to that?"

"I might have. Slytherin, remember?"

Hermione was annoyed and impressed at the same time. She stared at him for a minute before making up her mind. "I – I don't think I'm ready for any relationships, yet. Not with you especially."

"I understand. Being friends will be enough for me. Maybe someday, that will change. I could only hope."

"But I might be slightly attracted to you too."

He laughed. "I could see that. Obsessed with ink too," he teased, and Hermione went redder, if that was even possible.

They stood awkwardly in front of each other. Hermione was fidgeting, and her hands felt clammy.

"I hope that's honest and upfront enough for you," he murmured. He was looking at her intensely that Hermione felt like she was about to melt. Her heart was beating so fast, she was having a hard time breathing. She needed to escape and mull things over.

"Good night Malfoy." In a sudden bout of courage, she kissed his cheek. As soon as her lips touched his cheek, she hurriedly gasped the password and slipped into the Gryffindor common room to escape those grey eyes. She slid down the doors as she held her hand on her chest.

She had a hard time sleeping after that. Tossing and turning and recalling all the interactions and conversations they've had since Day 1, she fell into a fitful sleep.

The clock stroke twelve.

0-0-0

Day 20

When she woke up after a few hours, there was an owl tapping on the window, a bouquet of white violets on its claws. She gave the owl treats after getting the flowers. There was no message included with it. She went back to her bed and took the parchment on the table.

 _ **I probably should take your advice several days ago. You know, since you're always right, brightest witch of our age.**_

Her heart fluttered and she looked at the flowers in her hand. Before replying, she took out the books about flowers from her book bag. There on page 50 was a single line that made her flush despite the cold draft in the castle.

 _White violets – an invitation to gamble on love_

With hands shaking, she wrote on the parchment. _What advice?_

 _ **Will you go on a date with me to Hogsmeade next weekend?**_


End file.
